Derby player-coach Wayne Rooney says Barcelona defender Gerard Pique wasn't built for the Premier League.

Rooney insists former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson decided Pique wasn't suited for the Premier League after he was "bullied" in a defeat at Bolton Wanderers.

Writing in The Sunday Times, Rooney said: "Bolton away more or less finished Gerard Pique's career at United.

"He was young and got bullied there and I think that's when Fergie decided that, physically, he wasn't right for the Premier League.

"I always remember [Nemanja] Vidic: If we were going to Bolton - and it was the same when he was about to face Didier Drogba - he would be in the gym for two or three days before, pumping himself up."